Album Description"Little 15" is a Depeche Mode single, released on 16 May 1988, and the fourth single from the album Music for the Masses.
The song was never intended to be a single; in fact, it barely made it onto the album, but a French record label wanted to release the song as a single. The single became a very popular import and became a minor hit in the UK, reaching #60 on the UK Singles Chart - to date the second lowest UK singles placing for the band). The single did not use the BONG designation for its catalog number as previous Depeche Mode singles (since 1982's "Leave in Silence") had.
The song's title, as well as its status as a minor release, contributed to its special catalog number "LITTLE15". In this vein, it can be seen as a "little" release between BONG15 ("Behind the Wheel") and BONG16 ("Everything Counts [Live]"). Ironically, "Little 15" didn't chart in France, but it was also released as a single in other countries becoming finally a success : in West Germany, where it hit #16, in Austria where it reached #25 and in Switzerland where it entered the Top 20 at #18.
There was no remix of the song at the time of release (the 12" and 7" versions were the same); however, there are two piano instrumental B-sides, both performed by Alan Wilder. The first is "Stjärna" (mislabelled "St. Jarna"), which is Swedish for 'star', written by Martin Gore. The 12" B-side also contains a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata #14." According to his website, Wilder did not intend for it to be a B-side, as he was merely performing it for fun, but Gore stealthily recorded it. Wilder did not perform the song perfectly (his error occurs near the end of the song). Both instrumentals are produced by Depeche Mode alone (as opposed to the A-side which was produced by the band, plus Daniel Miller and Dave Bascombe).
The music video for "Little 15" was directed by Martyn Atkins, who had done previous design work for the band. The music video has been filmed in the Trellick Tower in London.
Between the Buried and Me covered this song on their 2006 album, The Anatomy Of.